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Jesslyn Mueller

author ● sojourner ● mother artist

  • About
  • Books
    • Journey: Advent for Sojourners
      • Journey Extras
    • The Sea & All Its Stars
    • The Haunting of Magnolia Woods
  • Newsletter
Write Like It’s Your Job 2021
On Writing

Write Like It’s Your Job 2021

JessicaJanuary 22, 2021January 15, 2021

I’ve heard it said goals are best achieved when they’re things you’re already doing. IContinue reading

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The Sea & all Its Stars: Revisions Update
On Writing

The Sea & all Its Stars: Revisions Update

JessicaJanuary 20, 2021January 15, 2021

In March 2021, it’ll be five years since I wrote my first “What if…” ponderingContinue reading

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5 Tips for Fighting Writing Fear
On Writing

5 Tips for Fighting Writing Fear

JessicaJanuary 18, 2021January 15, 2021

Every writer deals with fear. It’s a normal part of the life of a writer.Continue reading

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2020 Reading Wrapped
On Writing

2020 Reading Wrapped

JessicaJanuary 15, 2021January 15, 2021

It’s no surprise that I love books. Each year, I set a goal to readContinue reading

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Writing Lessons Learned in 2020
On Writing

Writing Lessons Learned in 2020

JessicaJanuary 6, 2021January 4, 2021

I set out for 2020 to be the year I write like it’s my job.Continue reading

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Recent Posts

  • Building a Writing Practice that Works for You
  • WIP: Diving into “The Little Mermaid”
  • Dear Writer, Don’t Despise Slow

jesslyn.mueller

Jessica Mueller
“Revision is not a sign of weakness; it’s mere “Revision is not a sign of weakness; it’s merely a product of truth that very little is built, constructed, or finished in one pass. [...] Revision is making good on that divine initial spark of inspiration. Revision is the chase, and you must not stop until the world on the page is as close to that original vision as possible—and the truly magic part is that the story might become something else in the process, something more: an even Grander Idea or an entirely new one.” - Jordan Rosenfeld, A Writer’s Guide to Persistance 📝 Revisions gets a bad rap because it’s hard—tedious, mentally and emotionally, BUT what is one thing you ENJOY about the revision process? For me, I’m finding I like cutting out excess for clearer, more powerful sentences. What about you? 🖋 📸: My friend @brandi.voigt.fox was one of my beta readers and she printed out the manuscript and left me notes and 💙s on her favorite passages. I’m still a little in awe that other people have read #theseaandallitsstars . #writingcommunity #writersofinstagram #writerslife #amediting #amrevising #amwriting
"Be brave and be bold Be childish and old it's the "Be brave and be bold Be childish and old it's the same old story Every life needs a hope of glory But you can't be an old fire If you're burning with a new flame So remember that, you are never a forgotten name Cause I know a land called the land of the living It's the world beyond those curtains where we learned to play I hear the voices of my childhood singing it's the world beyond those doorways Where we use to play I was born to be free, you were born to free me" - @roopanes , Land of the Living This song gives me all the magical, secret portal, ancient revived, embers burning bright, wide-eyed mystical dreams. A calling to freer, simpler things...a remembering of who you were and are and will be. Let's run away to the land of willing. ✨ 📸: June 2020, Maury River Valley #onedaymay #sheisnotlost #doortomywonderland #createmagic #wildflowerheart #mymagicalmoments #wanderingtales #fantasywriter #writercommunity #writerslife
Four hours later...book club was delicious. ☕️ Four hours later...book club was delicious. ☕️ Good discussion of a heavy book and, of course, deviating to talk about all the other books on our TBR and our Marvel favorites and music and more books. ✨
Hi, it's been awhile. 👋🏽 Here's a pajama cla Hi, it's been awhile. 👋🏽 Here's a pajama clad, front porch self portrait series. What's going on with me?🌸 · I am perpetually tired. Doesn't matter if I sleep 7 hours or 4 or take my vitamins. Always tired. (Don't send your MLM products, mmkay? Thanks.) · The last 4 weeks have been crazy busy (2 camping trips, end of school year stuff, other stuffs) and I just want to hull up in my room for 2 weeks, but...that's not socially acceptable. · I have, what I am not so lovingly calling, writer zits along my chin that don't want to leave. You know, where you rest your hand on your face being pensive. · I finally found my momentum with revisions. Having a CP meeting deadline helped and lots of quotes on how revising is gold for stories. I hope to be done with this round in June. Then...querying??? Scary stuff. · Sometimes I can't keep the fictional and real world separate--The Narrows are real, right? Is the Bergman A-frame cabin on Airbnb? · The compromise of living in a 100+ year old house is hearing every step & the dance parties/sword fighting that rattles the windows. · I think my cat's been avoiding me, except yesterday he cuddled with me for a few hours while I read. · I uploaded my book reels for March and April last night because I can't have gaps in my reading reels. 😜 · Two weeks left of school and I'm already planning (& buying curriculum) for the 2021-2022 school year. · That nagging feeling that I'm always missing something or have (or am about to) disappointed someone. It's a fun feeling. · I still haven't planted my seeds & it's mid-May. 🤦🏽‍♀️🌱 #gardenfail · Isn't interesting how "self-portrait" sounds so much better than "selfie" when they're literally the same thing. But if you take selfies some will call you self absorbed, selfish, fill in the blank. · I'm itching to start outlining a few (not so new) story ideas. The playlists are already made. What's going on with you & your world? 💬 Tell the big & random, thoughtful or chaotic things... #writerslife #momswhowrite #writerscommunity #amediting
Dear Writer, Sometimes you'll want to quit. You'll Dear Writer, Sometimes you'll want to quit. You'll look at your work and life and, maybe, out at all the other writers you see making it happen and you might tell yourself, "I can't do this." "I'm not cut out for this." Close your eyes and breath deep, darling. Feel what you feel. You can even let yourself cry. Let those shoulders shake. Fall back into a pillow or two. This writing life--the editing, drafting, revising, querying, the putting yourself out there day after day, translating visions and feelings to words is soul work. You may look at your efforts and want to quit-- it's too much work too much energy you can't see how to make it work--the words on the page and writing with your life. I haven't been on the other side of this publishing life, so I can't give you platitudes of "Keep pressing on! You're doing it. It'll all be worth it when you see your name on the bookshelf!" But I do know this: don't let a rough or tiring or uncertain season let you give up. It may be time to rest or play, to live outside of the words so you can pour life back into them. Here's the thing: we need your story. Even if you believe that's a lie. We need the way you write hope + love + purpose, courage + persistence + joy. We need the way you see the world, because just maybe...maybe your words hold the pieces that will help us see better. To knit + mend our broken places. So, dear writer, go and rest. Go and play. Go and let yourself a good cry. Go + change your pace. Wash away whatever is telling you writing is impossible. You can do this. You are doing this. Trust what your mind + body need. Trust what your story needs. Trust yourself apart from watching eyes. It's not time to give up. Not yet. . . . #dearwriter2021 #writersdesk #writingcommunity #writerscommunity #writinginspiration #writerlife #amwriting #amediting #writinglife #momwriter #momswhowrite #calledtocreate #createandcultivate
It’s May Day and the world is blooming in... be It’s May Day and the world is blooming in... beauty & tension, sorrow & joy, hope & remembrance. Today started with a funeral for a little one and will end with cuddling my nephew (...and my sister). It’s been heavy. A weird contrast to see the brightness and blooming of everything amidst the grief of friends. And how grief meets grief and the world keeps turning. (This week my first baby would’ve been 13. And to think of all the other friends who mourn their babies. 💛) You can have your worst day and still...the next thing happens: driving away, making coffee, getting groceries. Flowers still bloom even when you want everything to just pause and hold still a moment longer, because maybe you’re not ready for normal, knowing both will really ever be normal again. But flowers still bloom. The sun shines. And you just keep breathing one breath at a time
Point of View...let’s talk. As I’ve been revi Point of View...let’s talk. As I’ve been revising (again) my first chapters and taking in all the advice on the importance of the first chapter...and, subsequently feeling overwhelmed and underperforming, I decided to pull out some of my favorite books and reread the first pages. I was surprised to find that almost all of the were in 1st person point of view (left stack). In my memory, all these books were 3rd POV. I write in 3rd and felt these books have an old world, fairy tale feel. Folklore, fairy tales, and myths are almost always some variation of 3rd POV. So I asked in my stories what POV readers prefer to read and writers prefer to write. (I’ll share the results later.) So far, readers POV is 50/50 and writers are skewing to 3rd POV with caveats. It depends on the story. True. First person POV can be easier to write, but 3rd lends to worldbuilding. First can be easier to connect with readers, since you’re right there with the main character. Whereas 3rd can feel a little more detailed. Last week I read Ursula Le Guin’s Conversations on Writing and in it she mentions how, since she lived 90+ years, she’s seen the trends in writing and thinks 1st is trendy now. She compared 1st to only being able to see as far as a flashlight and 3rd to having a map. But—realizing some of my favorites are written in 1st with the feel of 3rd, I want to know how? How’d they do that? And the big question, should I rewrite in first POV? 💭What are your thoughts? 📚As a writer, do you prefer 1st or 3rd? How do you choose POV? What comes more natural for you or story needs? . . . #writingcommunity #writinginspiration #amwriting #amediting #writersofinstagram #writerscommunity #writerslife #writersdesk
The Weekend: rivers, waterfalls, rain, camping, hi The Weekend: rivers, waterfalls, rain, camping, hiking, rain, wildflowers, and rain. In spite of the rain, it was a beautiful scenery and a good time. 📸: Jones Gap State Park, native azalea, Rainbow Falls (@JGSP), Davidson River (Pisgah National Forest), Looking Glass Falls (PNF), Moore Cove Falls (PNF), and Caesars Head State Park.
“Be willing to be a beginner every single mornin “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” Meister Eckhart ✨ “If we begin as a beginner then suddenly everything can be discovered and everything can be rediscovered. When we have humility we accept that we don’t know everything. We accept that everything is a mystery to be uncovered. I think that is also the posture of the artist. We have to come with a sense of curiosity.” Stephen Roach, on The Habit Podcast ✨ How are you approaching your work as a beginner today? What mysteries are you uncovering? What have you been curious about? ✍🏼 I’m choosing to see revisions as possibility. That I’ll find clarity with what needs to be cut. That it is possible to make this story better if I take my fear out of the way. There are possibilities. “What if...” instead of “I’m stuck.” And for all the other stuff—rushing to band, prepping for camping, kid stuff, life stuff, etc and etc—I’m holding tension and taking deep breaths.
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